things in kenya are getting worse. it's never good when the words "ethnic cleansing" are thrown around without regard for the weight the words carry.
i'm afraid that it will turn out to be rwanda all over again.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
it's about obedience, not money
my mail has been flooded over the past week or so with tax statements. from work, from the student loan people, from charitable organizations to whom i donate, etc. i usually like this time of year because it means that my income tax refund check is just around the corner.
but i got a little sick to my stomach when i opened my 2007 statement from church. had i given ten percent of my total income to God? yes. had i given more than ten percent of my total income to God? yes. but when i saw the number in black and white on a piece of paper it hit me that i wasn't doing enough.
almost three years ago i decided that i was going to start tithing on the amount of money that i wanted to make versus the amount of money that i was actually making. it was an act of faith. and it paid off. a few weeks after i started tithing on the amount of money i wanted to take, a superior of mine called me into her office and gave me a raise. the raise was exactly the amount of money on which i had been tithing. exactly. as in to-the-penny exactly.
so after seeing my recent 2007 statement from church and thinking about what God has done for me in the past, i've made a decision.
i will do better. i will give more. i will work harder.
now, what will you do?
Monday, January 28, 2008
new levels of embarrassment
i don't get embarrassed easily. but tonight i reached new levels.
so i was at the gym on the precor minding my own business trying to train for the mini-marathon. israel houghton was blaring in my ears and i was getting with it when i realized i was singing. out loud. and i'm not a quiet singer. when i sing, i sing.
i started laughing at myself and looked around to see if anybody had noticed. luckily, everybody else either had earbuds in or was too far away to hear me.
a few minutes later i had forgotten about it all. i was still on the precor minding my own business trying to train for the mini-marathon. israel houghton was still blaring in my ears and i was still getting with it when out of no where a sound like a mighty rushing wind came out of my backside.
i about fell over laughing this time. i had to stop running i was laughing so hard. luckily, everybody else either had earbuds in or was too far away to hear me.
i decided that God was trying to tell me to get off that particular machine. so i promptly exited and went to another part of the gym where i neither sung nor farted for the whole gym to hear.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
shhhhhhh me
so many things to say, but blogging about them isn't wise. so i'm going to keep my trap shut and keep my fingers from typing.
Friday, January 25, 2008
from music city usa
it's cog night, or former-cog in some cases, on television tonight.
help me trust in your unfailing love. help me believe in your unfailing love.
clay
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
help me steve jobs
so my computer died. yuck. the geniuses at the mac store decided it had to be sent off to be fixed.
i'll be in mourning for the next three to five business days.
Monday, January 21, 2008
on being a servant
"And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important - wonderful. If you want to be recognized - wonderful. If you want to be great - wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness.
And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant."
- dr. martin luther king, jr.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
violence in kenya, part 2
the violence has slowed, but hasn't stopped. this two minute video was taken only three days ago in eldoret, the city where some of my friends live, and brings it home for me. i was on this main road the last time i was in eldoret.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
it's your turn
ok, i've seen a few other bloggers do this recently and i like the idea.
here are the rules: via the comments section below, you can ask me any question you want and i'll answer. you have 24 hours from now.
guess that means i'll be up around 2am tomorrow too.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
put your running shoes on
so who wants to run the mini-marathon with me in may?
Monday, January 14, 2008
where are they now?
a few years ago i met a family in south africa that i haven't forgotten and i've been thinking about them today.
during the first night of my host church's anniversary crusade, i was asked to counsel with a mother and her seven year old son. the mother had short, jet black hair and worn, leathery skin. tears were slowly rolling down her dry, cracked cheeks while her son, fidgeting with his two-sizes-too-small sweater and keeping as close to his mother as possible, had an emotionless face and wouldn't look at me in the eye. when we sat down in the red plastic chairs in the corner of the room, i asked her how i could help her. she started weeping and telling me how her eighteen year old male neighbor had sexually molested her little boy.
i ended up visiting them at their flat several times over the next several weeks. we took hampers (boxes of food) and would go back and counsel with them. often during church services, the mother would sit silently in the congregation and cry, yearning for her family to be made whole again.
i went by their house during my last week in durban to say goodbye. i was met at the door by the little boy who just a few months earlier wouldn't look me in the eye. now he was smiling and reached up to give me a hug. after a brief conversation the mother once again had tears flowing down her face, but these were tears of joy not tears of sorrow. not only were they being healed, but her husband - the little boy's father - had accepted Christ.
Jesus, awesome in power forever awesome and great is Your name You overcame
glad i was delivered
i came across the blog today of someone i used to respect. and it reminded me why i don't respect him/her anymore.
some things never change. and that's unfortunate.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
sunday recap
in the immortal words of our worship pastors wife, WOAZERS! today was da bomb! _____
pastor curtis and the choir did an amazing job. for real. worship set was shabach and there is a river. the sermon pastor curtis preached in the first service during the worship set was honest, real, authentic. and i loved it. _____
pastor david was ON FIRE today! fo real. here are some highlights: - do you believe your promise? - don't settle for average - praise (judah) was what made caleb different from all the rest - is your praise really the difference? - a real praiser will worship when there isn't outside stimulation (cd, iPod, choir) - God uses the different - we've got to drive the giants out of our space _____
daniel franklin had to wear a university of louisville jersey this morning. poor guy. but a bet is a bet. he had to pay up. _____
i had my first jog of the new year tonight. the approximately 2 miles around my hilly neighborhood wasn't bad. _____
Saturday, January 12, 2008
its all about priorities
i overheard this conversation tonight between a redneck dad and his redneck son at a chinese restaurant. i promise. i couldn't make this up on my own.
redneck dad: so do you wanna marry one-a 'em chinese women when you get older?
redneck son: i don't know
redneck dad: you like blonde-headed white girls?
redneck son: i don't know
redneck dad: how about an african-american?
redneck son: i don't know
redneck dad: well, son, skin color doesn't matter. you marry whoever you want. you just make sure she has a lot of money so you can buy daddy a boat.
Friday, January 11, 2008
things i learned today about louisville's international community
louisville is 1 of only 20 cities in the united states where refugees are placed
91 countries are represented in louisville
80 languages are spoken in louisville
the largest people groups around nvmc's new home on bardstown road are cubans and bosnians
the majority of the cubans in buechel are evangelicals
approximately 7,000 bosnians in buechel are muslim
louisville is about to receive a large iraqi refugee population
nvmc, we have A LOT of work to do.
can you see it?
i can. i do.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
kiss
not to be prideful, but i TOTALLY ROCK at guitar hero III.
i want to rock n roll all night...
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
be the duck
almost everybody has a cell phone now. we are in 2008 after all. but have you ever noticed the incredible amount of variety in ringtones? you can have anybody from van halen to luciano pavarotti to yolanda adams on your phone.
what's my ringtone? a quacking duck. yep, when you call me i hear quack, quack, quack.
i read deadly viper character assassins a few weeks ago and one of the sections still haunts me. it encourages us to "be the duck" and let things just roll off our backs.
i got a wee bit upset today about a situation that was completely out of my control. and then my phone rang. and i thought about why i have the dumbest ringtone ever on my phone. and then i thought about how i love having the dumbest ringtone ever on my phone. why? because the dumb quacking reminds me to let things roll off my back. it's free therapy in a way.
so what's your ringtone?
Sunday, January 06, 2008
reason #54 why i love my church
because there were three of THE BEST mullets i've ever seen in my life at church today. seriously. they were ggrrrreat!
Saturday, January 05, 2008
pleasing to You
i wasn't going to blog today because i've not been in the best of moods because nature did NOT take its course. the cats did not eat the birds. the birds devoured the cats. and it was sickening to watch - especially in person.
but then i heard this song and my wheels have started to turn.
sanctify me You are the light to guide me to the place where i am only pleasing to You
purify me i need Your light inside me so the darkness flees and i can be pleasing to You
Jesus, my heart must know i'm pleasing to You
at the end of the day, we all want affirmation. we want to know we've made somebody proud. we want to be loved. or at least i want affirmation. i want to know that i've made somebody proud. i want to be loved.
the problem, however, comes when our priorities become out of line. we shouldn't be so caught up in what other people think about us that we lose sight of his words of affirmation over us.
Jesus, my heart must know i'm pleasing to You
Friday, January 04, 2008
be there
jason crabb. nvmc. sunday, 6 january. 5pm.
going to the holy land
tomorrow i'll be in rupp arena for the kentucky versus stomps louisville game.
GO CATS!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
i feel like macaulay culkin
so i'm home alone since everybody else is (still) in florida. i'd forgotten how quiet this house can be.
a lot of the violence is happening in a city in western kenya named eldoret. about 30 kikuyu's were hiding in a church in eldoret when a mob set fire to the church building and they were burned alive. i have several friends who live in this city and work at discipleship university, which is an extension of lee university. i stayed on the campus of discipleship university for several days the last time i was in eldoret.
i've emailed my friends but haven't heard from them yet. please pray for their protection and for peace in the region.
nao wote wanaokukimbilia watafurahi; watapiga daima kelele za furaha. kwa kuwa wewe unawahifadhi, walipendao jina lako watakufurahia. - zaburi 5:11
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
2007 recap
i know it's 2008 all ready, but i haven't had internet access for the past several days so here's my recap of 2007:
- january 27 - i confessed that people who can only talk about God, regardless of the actual topic of conversation, get on my nerves. - february 25 - the new home of nvmc was announced. - march 14 - i watched the stomach fat of not-your-average-joe jiggle all over the place and i was so very proud of him. - april 15 - my niece sang chicken noodle soup for the world. - may 22 - i proudly declared that i'm an ass. - june 13 - my 20th anniversary. - june 18 - extra, extra, read all about it. the local paper here in louisville wrote a front-page article about my pastor and my church. - june 22 - i blogged about having poop on my leg. - july 19 - i took a praise break when i found out i didn't have a brain tumor or (severe) heart trouble. - august 22 - pastor randy preached a sermon that convicted me for not praying for louisville as much as i should. - september 18 - pastor david preached in a most holy university of kentucky jersey. and i wasn't there to see it. - october 7 - nvmc had the best baptismal service in the history of the world. seriously. - october 9 - in watching the baptismal service video, the-big-kahuna showed me some things that rocked my world. seriously. - november 2 - nvmc signed a contract to purchase the showcase cinemas. - november 25, 26 and 30 - i blogged about authenticity. - december 20 - i was horny. what a way to end a year.
a few funny things from the past few days
one night after a long day in one of the disney parks, we all loaded up on the bus. all 19 of us. it was quiet. everybody was bone tired when my four-year-old niece blurts out very loudly "i just tooted on pa's lap." everybody was rolling, including the people around us that we didn't know. _____
a bird pooped on my dad's head while we were in epcot one day. he tried to wash it out but it left a pretty big greasy spot. he sent me a text later on in the day that said "i'm going back to the hotel room to wash my poopy hair." i've saved it on my phone because it makes me laugh and laugh and laugh. _____
my brother-in-law got off at the wrong bus stop and apparently didn't notice that nobody else from our family disembarked. we were waving and knocking on the glass windows, but to no avail. finally the bus driver realized what was going on and opened the doors. when he (finally) got back on the bus, people were laughing and clapping and cheering for him for getting back on the right bus. again, including the people around us that we didn't know. _____
i saw a really, really large man in epcot wearing a shirt that said "man boobs are sexy". he had them and they were not sexy. _____
my little cousin who is twelve took a random picture on the bus one night of his little sister who is six. it was perfect timing too. he caught her picking her nose. it was priceless! _____
what the devil is going on!?
i'm back home. whew.
i'll post more later on but for now all i can say is this: it's SNOWING here. i miss the 80 degree weather that i've been in for the past several days.
